Pueblo City Council President’s business burglarized twice in 4 days, $10k+ in damages
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- In four days, a well-known sports bar in Pueblo was burglarized multiple times in the middle of the night. The owner of Graham's Grill and current Pueblo City Council President, Heather Graham shared her frustration with the burglaries and the financial hit her restaurant just took.
According to Graham, the combination of damages and lost goods totals from the two burglaries totals roughly $10,000.
The first burglary happened early Saturday morning. Two suspects forcibly entered the restaurant by throwing rocks through the glass door.
Once inside, Graham said they stole bottles of liquor, cash registers, and tablets in a matter of minutes.
Despite officers with the Pueblo Police Department getting to the scene within minutes, Graham said the suspects were long gone.
The second burglary happened Thursday morning, just before 4 a.m.
This time, Graham said two suspects busted down the wooden doors and stole a heavy ATM with thousands of dollars inside.
The whole incident was caught on a surveillance camera. That footage was saved with 13 Investigates:
Graham told 13 Investigates that these types of crimes are hurting Pueblo businesses. She said not every small business can afford to pay thousands upon thousands of dollars worth in damages.
"That's a few days of business for us. Nobody wants to live this way in Pueblo," Graham said.
As of Thursday evening, no arrests have been made in either burglary. When asked if the two crimes were connected, the Pueblo Police Department said it's still under investigation and that there's no definitive answer either way.
"I hope that police bust down some doors," said Graham.
This isn't the first time one of Graham's businesses has been broken into and burglarized.
In May, someone broke into the Pueblo Athletic Club through a back door and tried stealing money from the gym.
"People love Pueblo. You should feel safe when you are in Pueblo. We used to feel safe when we were in Pueblo, but this hits pretty close to home. I think it's time we all get together and do something about it."
The councilwoman told 13 Investigates she believes more needs to be done by lawmakers to address the growing crime rates in the Steel City.
"This is on us. This is on us as a city. This is a call to action from District Attorney Chostner, Mayor Gradisar, and the rest of City Council," Graham said. "We need to put crime at the very top of our list. We need to solve this."
In recent months, Pueblo District Attorney Jeff Chostner and Pueblo Police Chief Chris Noeller shared their disapproval of recent legislative laws. The DA and Chief of Police, the new laws have hurt their ability to keep repeat offenders behind bars.
The Pueblo Police Department is looking for information on the suspects. They ask that anyone with any information contact Detective Jeff Maize at 719-553-3281 or Detective Shane Pope at 719-553-2441. If you would like to remain anonymous, contact Pueblo Crime Stoppers at 719-542-7867 or online here. If your information leads to a felony arrest, you could be eligible for a cash reward.
